III
HOW they toiled and sweated to get the hay in! But their efforts were
rewarded, for the harvest was an even bigger success than they had
hoped.
Sometimes the work was hard; the implements had been designed for
human beings and not for animals, and it was a great drawback that no
animal was able to use any tool that involved standing on his hind legs.
But the pigs were so clever that they could think of a way round every
difficulty. As for the horses, they knew every inch of the field, and in
fact understood the business of mowing and raking far better than Jones
and his men had ever done. The pigs did not actually work, but directed
and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural
that they should assume the leadership. Boxer and Clover would
harness themselves to the cutter or the horse-rake (no bits or reins were
needed in these days, of course) and tramp steadily round and round the
field with a pig walking behind and calling out “Gee up, comrade!” or
“Whoa back, comrade!” as the case might be. And every animal down
to the humblest worked at turning the hay and gathering it. Even the
ducks and hens toiled to and fro all day in the sun, carrying tiny wisps
of hay in their beaks. In the end they finished the harvest in two days’
less time than it had usually taken Jones and his men. Moreover, it was
the biggest harvest that the farm had ever seen. There was no wastage
whatever; the hens and ducks with their sharp eyes had gathered up the
very last stalk. And not an animal on the farm had stolen so much as a
mouthful.
All through that summer the work of the farm went like clockwork. The
animals were happy as they had never conceived it possible to be.
Every mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was
truly their own food, produced by themselves and for themselves, not
doled out to them by a grudging master. With the worthless parasitical
human beings gone, there was more for everyone to eat. There was
more leisure too, inexperienced though the animals were. They met
with many difficulties-for instance, later in the year, when they
harvested the corn, they had to tread it out in the ancient style and blow
away the chaff with their breath, since the farm possessed no threshing

machine-but the pigs with their cleverness and Boxer with his
tremendous muscles always pulled them through. Boxer was the
admiration of everybody. He had been a hard worker even in Jones’s
time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one; there were
days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty
shoulders. From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always
at the spot where the work was hardest. He had made an arrangement
with one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour
earlier than anyone else, and would put in some volunteer labour at
whatever seemed to be most needed, before the regular day’s work
began. His answer to every problem, every setback, was “I will work
harder!”-which he had adopted as his personal motto.
But everyone worked according to his capacity The hens and ducks, for
instance, saved five bushels of corn at the harvest by gathering up the
stray grains. Nobody stole, nobody grumbled over his rations, the
quarrelling and biting and jealousy which had been normal features of
life in the old days had almost disappeared. Nobody shirked-or almost
nobody. Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings,
and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a
stone in her hoof. And the behaviour of the cat was somewhat peculiar.
It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could
never be found. She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear
at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing
had happened. But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred
so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good
intentions. Old Benjamin, the donkey, seemed quite unchanged since
the Rebellion. He did his work in the same slow obstinate way as he
had done it in Jones’s time, never shirking and never volunteering for
extra work either. About the Rebellion and its results he would express
no opinion. When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones
was gone, he would say only “Donkeys live a long time. None of you
has ever seen a dead donkey,” and the others had to be content with this
cryptic answer.
On Sundays there was no work. Breakfast was an hour later than usual,
and after breakfast there was a ceremony which was observed every
week without fail. First came the hoisting of the flag. Snowball had
found in the harness-room an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones’s and
had painted on it a hoof and a horn in white. This was run up the
flagstaff in the farmhouse garden every Sunday 8, morning. The flag

was green, Snowball explained, to represent the green fields of
England, while the hoof and horn signified the future Republic of the
Animals which would arise when the human race had been finally
overthrown. After the hoisting of the flag all the animals trooped into
the big barn for a general assembly which was known as the Meeting.
Here the work of the coming week was planned out and resolutions
were put forward and debated. It was always the pigs who put forward
the resolutions. The other animals understood how to vote, but could
never think of any resolutions of their own. Snowball and Napoleon
were by far the most active in the debates. But it was noticed that these
two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made,
the other could be counted on to oppose it. Even when it was resolved-a
thing no one could object to in itself-to set aside the small paddock
behind the orchard as a home of rest for animals who were past work,
there was a stormy debate over the correct retiring age for each class of
animal. The Meeting always ended with the singing of Beasts of
England, and the afternoon was given up to recreation.
The pigs had set aside the harness-room as a headquarters for
themselves. Here, in the evenings, they studied blacksmithing,
carpentering, and other necessary arts from books which they had
brought out of the farmhouse. Snowball also busied himself with
organising the other animals into what he called Animal Committees.
He was indefatigable at this. He formed the Egg Production Committee
for the hens, the Clean Tails League for the cows, the Wild Comrades’
Re-education Committee (the object of this was to tame the rats and
rabbits), the Whiter Wool Movement for the sheep, and various others,
besides instituting classes in reading and writing. On the whole, these
projects were a failure. The attempt to tame the wild creatures, for
instance, broke down almost immediately. They continued to behave
very much as before, and when treated with generosity, simply took
advantage of it. The cat joined the Re-education Committee and was
very active in it for some days. She was seen one day sitting on a roof
and talking to some sparrows who were just out of her reach. She was
telling them that all animals were now comrades and that any sparrow
who chose could come and perch on her paw; but the sparrows kept
their distance.
The reading and writing classes, however, were a great success. By the
autumn almost every animal on the farm was literate in some degree.
As for the pigs, they could already read and write perfectly. The dogs

learned to read fairly well, but were not interested in reading anything
except the Seven Commandments. Muriel, the goat, could read
somewhat better than the dogs, and sometimes used to read to the
others in the evenings from scraps of newspaper which she found on
the rubbish heap. Benjamin could read as well as any pig, but never
exercised his faculty. So far as he knew, he said, there was nothing
worth reading. Clover learnt the whole alphabet, but could not put
words together. Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would
trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof, and then would
stand staring at the letters with his ears back, sometimes shaking his
forelock, trying with all his might to remember what came next and
never succeeding. On several occasions, indeed, he did learn E, F, G, H,
but by the time he knew them, it was always discovered that he had
forgotten A, B, C, and D. Finally he decided to be content with the first
four letters, and used to write them out once or twice every day to
refresh his memory. Mollie refused to learn any but the six letters
which spelt her own name. She would form these very neatly out of
pieces of twig, and would then decorate them with a flower or two and
walk round them admiring them.
None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter
A. It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens,
and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart.
After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments
could in effect be reduced to a single maxim, namely: “Four legs good,
two legs bad.” This, he said, contained the essential principle of
Animalism. Whoever had thoroughly grasped it would be safe from
human influences. The birds at first objected, since it seemed to them
that they also had two legs, but Snowball proved to them that this was
not so.
“A bird’s wing, comrades,” he said, “is an organ of propulsion and not
of manipulation. It should therefore be regarded as a leg. The
distinguishing mark of man is the hand, the instrument with which he
does all his mischief.”
The birds did not understand Snowball’s long words, but they accepted
his explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to learn the
new maxim by heart. FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD, was
inscribed on the end wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments
and in bigger letters When they had once got it by heart, the sheep
developed a great liking for this maxim, and often as they lay in the

field they would all start bleating “Four legs good, two legs bad! Four
legs good, two legs bad!” and keep it up for hours on end, never
growing tired of it.
Napoleon took no interest in Snowball’s committees. He said that the
education of the young was more important than anything that could be
done for those who were already grown up. It happened that Jessie and
Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth
between them to nine sturdy puppies. As soon as they were weaned,
Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would
make himself responsible for their education. He took them up into a
loft which could only be reached by a ladder from the harness-room,
and there kept them in such seclusion that the rest of the farm soon
forgot their existence.
The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was
mixed every day into the pigs’ mash. The early apples were now
ripening, and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. The
animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared
out equally; one day, however, the order went forth that all the
windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the
use of the pigs. At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was
no use. All the pigs were in full agreement on this point, even Snowball
and Napoleon. Squealer was sent to make the necessary explanations to
the others.
“Comrades!” he cried. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are
doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually
dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking
these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been
proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary
to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole
management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night
we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that
milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs
failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come
back! Surely, comrades,” cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping
from side to side and whisking his tail, “surely there is no one among
you who wants to see Jones come back?”
Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of,
it was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in

this light, they had no more to say. The importance of keeping the pigs
in good health was all too obvious. So it was agreed without further
argument that the milk and the windfall apples (and also the main crop
of apples when they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone.

In Chapter 3 of “Animal Farm,” conflicts emerge as the animals strive to establish their new way of life on the farm. These conflicts revolve around leadership, labor, and the distribution of resources.

One of the main conflicts arises from the pigs’ growing dominance and their appropriation of privileges. Despite the initial ideals of equality among all animals, the pigs, led by Napoleon and Snowball, gradually assert their authority. They move into the farmhouse, contrary to earlier agreements, and begin enjoying special treatment such as sleeping in beds and waking up later. This creates tension among the other animals, who start to question the fairness of these arrangements. However, the pigs use persuasive tactics, like Squealer’s explanations and appeals to fear of Jones’ return, to justify their actions and maintain control.

Another conflict stems from the division of labor and the animals’ struggle with tasks designed for humans. While the pigs use their intelligence to oversee operations, the other animals face challenges in adapting to the tools and methods left behind by the humans. They work tirelessly to harvest the hay and later the corn, but encounter difficulties due to their lack of experience and the limitations of the tools. Despite these challenges, they persevere with the guidance of the pigs, highlighting the theme of collective effort and resilience in the face of adversity.

Furthermore, conflicts arise over the allocation of resources, particularly milk and apples. The pigs, claiming these items are essential for their health as the leaders of the farm, decide to reserve them exclusively for themselves. This decision sparks murmurs of discontent among the other animals, who feel it goes against the principles of equality and solidarity they had established. However, the pigs use propaganda and manipulation to quell dissent, framing their actions as necessary for the greater good of the farm. This unequal distribution of resources deepens the divide between the pigs and the rest of the animals, leading to resentment and mistrust.

Additionally, conflicts arise from the pigs’ control over education and the shaping of young minds. Napoleon takes a keen interest in the education of the puppies, separating them from their mothers and raising them in seclusion. This creates unease among the other animals, who question the motives behind this decision and fear the implications for the future. The pigs’ control over education underscores their desire to maintain power and influence over the farm’s next generation, further exacerbating tensions within the community.

Overall, Chapter 3 of “Animal Farm” portrays various conflicts that arise as the animals navigate the complexities of establishing their new society. From struggles over leadership and labor to tensions surrounding resource distribution and education, these conflicts highlight the challenges inherent in creating a fair and equal system. As the pigs consolidate their control and assert their dominance, the other animals must grapple with their changing roles and the implications for their collective welfare.